Falling Stars
by LillyTruscotMIleyCyrus
Summary: Ninth grade student Miley Stewart has kept caged up feelings about a boy in her class for a long time. But when a terror grips Los Angeles and threatens everybody's lives, can Miley, with the help of her best friends Lilly Truscott and Oliver Oken, find a way to save the day? Find out in this gripping adventure guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!
1. Chapter 1: Never Die

Falling Stars

Miley Stewart sighed as she slipped her cell phone back into the pocket of her shorts. Her portly ninth grade teacher, Mr. Corelli, was droning on about the War of 1812. Sitting in front of her (or, to be exact, lying asleep on the table in front of her) was Miley's best friend Lilly Truscott.

Miley glanced around the room, ascertained that their teacher had not noticed her playing Flappy Birds, and then reached back into her pocket. Just as her fingers slipped around the sleek cell phone, the lights in the room suddenly blew out.

_Two surprising things just happened_, Miley thought. _The power went out, and Mr. Corelli shut his yap hole. _

The rest of the class looked around the room, and then all gazed at Mr. Corelli. Even Lilly jerked her head upwards yelling _I'm up!_ before she realized the absence of light and the fact that she was not being discovered by their teacher.

"All right everybody," Mr. Corelli said. "Everybody stay calm. Just a power shortage probably. Lights will be back in a few, I hope."

Miley drew her cell phone out of her shorts and opened up twitter. She tried to load her feed. _No dice_, she thought. There were no bars displayed at the top of her screen. The school's network must have blown out too_. _Miley frowned_. I wonder…_

"Ms. Stewart, please hand over the phone," rang Mr. Corelli's voice, clear as a bell.

Miley flushed at the eyes of the class, realizing how visible her phone's light must have shone though the dark classroom.

She sighed and got up. Mr. Corelli stretched out his hand, and Miley obediently placed the phone into his waiting palm. "Can I go to the bathroom?" asked Miley.

Mr. Corelli waved assent, and Miley walked across the room, flipping Lilly's ponytail as she walked by.

Oliver Oken, her other best friend, watched her walking by with his head buried in his arms on the desk.

Miley ran lightly down the stairs onto the first floor. Middleview high school wasn't too large, especially by Los Angelas standards. However, the entire school consisted of only about 500 students, so it suited its purposes.

Miley navigated her way through the dark corridors of the school. With the lights off, the hallways seemed much eerier. Miley's footsteps echoed through the empty halls. She pushed open the bathroom door and stepped into the dark girls' washroom.

There were, of course, no windows in the restroom. Penetrating the darkness, a thin light shone from somewhere within. Suddenly afraid, Miley called out.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Miley shifted uneasily.

"Yeah, me. Jessica." A female voice replied.

Miley didn't know any Jessicas but thought little more of it and stepped inside.

Jessica stood alone, leaning on the white tiled wall of the room. Her worried face looked up from her cell phone.

"Are you alright?" Miley asked as she approached her.

"Yeah. I mean no. I mean… Just look at his news article." She handed Miley the phone. Miley glanced at the header. **Real life zombies invade Metro area business convention. **Beneath was a blurry photo of which Miley could discern nothing. The sub heading read: 30 dead after 'sick men' invaded convention.

Miley shuddered. She handed back the phone, not wanting to read any more.

Tears began to slide down Jessica's face. "M-My father was at that convention. He-" She sobbed. "I just hope he's OK. I can't refresh my phone because the internet's out. I just-" she cried out again and Miley put her arm around her to try to comfort her. "H-He was there all day to-"

But Miley never got to hear what Jessica's father was there to do, because Jessica's whimpering was interrupted by a loud stern voice.

"Attention students and faculty. We are in lockdown procedure. This is not a drill. Everyone must return immediately to their classrooms. I repeat: every student must return to their present classrooms and await further instructions."

In the last few seconds, Miley's urge to relieve herself had tripled. She rushed to a stall, but when she left, Jessica was gone. Miley groped in the dark for the sink, and washed her hands. She nearly stumbled on her way out of the bathroom. As she exited the bathroom, a single man standing in the dark hall rushed towards her. By his greasy suit and greying hair, Miley recognized him as the school janitor Quincy.

"Miley, what on earth are you still doing in the halls? Didn't you hear the announcement? Classroom, now!" he sputtered. He pushed his thick glasses back towards his glassy eyes.

"But I was in the bathroom! What is going on? Why won't anyone-"

"Enough!" Quincy said sharply. He leaned in closely, close enough that Miley could smell the sardines and coffee he had this morning. Instinctively, Miley retreated her head back a little. He was, after all a rather repulsive man, with narrow sable pupils, greasy skin, and a horrid leer he enjoys scaring children with.

"There's trouble in the city" he whispered. "Nasty trouble." He gave her his most nasty leer, malicious glee lining his face. "Oh I wouldn't worry about going home for a while, missy." He gave her a satanic laugh, and at that point Miley was so frightened and perhaps even more disgusted that she turned her back on him and ran as quick as possible back to her classroom.

_He's joking, of course. He loves to scare kids. He's just an idiot._

She looked back, and as if to assert her last point, Quincy stood there alone in the hallway, alternating between laughing madly and coughing heavily.

His laughter faded as Miley ran back up the stairs two at time and rushed to room 239, her classroom. She encountered nobody else in the halls. When she reached her classroom, she twisted the doorknob, but found it closed.

"Open up, it's me" Miley whispered, although she didn't know why. "Mr. Corelli!" she said a little louder.

Mr. Corelli's pudgy face appeared in the small window of the door. His blue eyes studied her from under his wavy blonde hair. He fumbled with the lock, then unlocked the door and opened it.

"Took you long enough Miley," Mr. Corelli whispered.

The classroom seemed much darker than before. Miley noticed that the blinds had been drawn down on all of the windows, like eylids covering shining eyes. The entirety of the class, twenty six students, was huddled in the far left corner of the room. Nobody was speaking.

"Mr. Corelli, what-"Miley began, but was silenced by Mr. Corelli placing a thick finger to his lips. He locked the door after them.

A bloodcurdling scream rang out from somewhere in the direction of the basketball court. Miley turned towards the sound, but she could see nothing through the old white drapes. Her blood froze at the enduring scream. It sounded exactly identical to that of a horror film. A shiver ran down Miley's body, and she suddenly became very cold.

Mr. Corelli was sweating. He motioned for them all to stay put.

The scream rang out again, but this time met an abrupt end.

Miley looked at her classmates. Most had pale faces; others had turned their heads towards the wall. Lilly was tightly clutching Oliver, who seemed paler than a snowman. AS Miley approached, she could discern a single tear roll down Lilly's pallid cheek.

Lilly looked up and sniffed.

"I'm scared, Miley," she whispered.

"Come here, I have news," said Miley, beckoning towards the corner. She wanted to be further away from the other students, and especially from Mr. Corelli. The three of them bowed their heads together, as if in prayer, and Miley began.

Miley described her encounter with Jessica, and the article that she had shown. She also told them Quincy's cryptic remarks. And now, to top everything, there was that horrid scream from the courtyard.

"I know that Jackson must be safe; he must in biology now," Miley contemplated. "Dad! I've got to call my dad! Quick, Lilly, pass me your phone." Lilly fumbled through her pockets, and produced her pink phone. Under cover of her two friends, Miley dialled her home phone.

_Come on, pick up_ thought Miley. Her home phone ran on batteries. _So there should be nothing stopping Robby from getting the phone. Unless…._

_NO! Stop it Miley! Don't even dare think that._

Nobody answered, and their voicemail took over.

"Calling someone?" said a high pitched voice from Miley's left. Miley furtively shot a look towards its source, who turned out to be Rico.

Rico was an obnoxious student. He believed the world circled around himself, and that everyone else is there only to be pranked. He had skipped two grades, and was much smaller than the other students. However, nobody messed with him.

"Miss Stewart, now!" said Mr. Corelli.

Miley shot Rico the dirtiest look she could muster, but through the pervading gloom, Rico probably missed it.

She gave the phone to the awaiting palm.

Pushing Rico out of the way (an easy task-he stood merely five feet tall), Miley came back to their circle. Looking around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, Miley leaned in and said.

"That's it guys," Miley whispered. "I gotta find my dad. We're getting outta here."

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment. **

**I don't know if I should continue this story-that is, if enough people comment or like, then I'll definitely instill a second chapter, and probably more. The future is in your hands!**

**P.S. Want to read more creepy stories? Check out this link to my bronze medal winning flash fiction:**

allpoetry{dot com}/poem/11562675-Crawlers-by-Emily740

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	2. Chapter 2: Escape

Falling Stars

Chapter 2

"Miley, that's crazy! We can't leave," Lilly whispered earnestly. Oliver nodded.

"I agree, it's never going to work," Oliver said.

Miley looked at each of their faces in turn. She thought, and then said "You guys can stay here, but I'm leaving."

"C'mon Miley, you know we're with you wherever you go," Lilly sighed, "but this is crazy! Exactly how do you plan to do this?"

Miley looked around the dark classroom to make sure nobody was listening. Mr. Corelli was busy trying to get a signal on his cell phone, and the rest of the class was likewise whispering to friends or trembling in fear. The sound of the scream outside was still fresh in Miley's mind.

_Darn, I've got nothing_ thought Miley. "Listen. If we make it out, we need to stop by Jackson's classroom and get him out to come with us. I wanna make sure he's safe," Miley said.

"You can still text him, remember. The internet's down, but you can still text," Oliver contributed.

"You're right!" Miley said and smiled at him. Then her smile faltered. "Both me and Lilly lost our phones. Do you have yours?"

Oliver looked around and drew out his cell phone. He grudgingly handed it over.

Miley furtively tested Jackson: Meet in boys bathroom first floor. Miley didn't want to risk being spotted by Quincy, who was probably still laughing and coughing in the same spot. The boy's bathroom was across the school from the girl's, so they should be fine. She hoped.

A sudden _ding!_ startled the classroom.

"What on earth?" Mr. Corelli exclaimed as he looked up from his phone. "Miley, again?! That tears it. Everybody put their cell phones on my desk."

After much muttering and grumbling, the students obeyed.

"It must be Jackson!" Miley whispered. She flipped the phone open and read: Already there sis.

Miley began typing: How- but never finished, because then Mr. Corelli snatched the phone out of her hand. If this weren't an extreme situation, I'd have you in detention washing my car!" he said and walked away.

Miley rolled her eyes and returned to her friends. "Jackson's there somehow. I-" A loud thump interrupted her. The thump sounded as if something heavy had crashed into one of the windows downstairs. There was no sound of shattering glass, and that made Miley slightly relieved.

"Everyone, away from the windows!" Mr. Corelli commanded. The class backed away towards the door.

_Thump. _Another bang against one of the school's windows.

"Mr. Corelli, what's going on?" A boy from Miley's class asked.

"I don't know, I texted the principle. Nobody replied. Just stay calm, everything's going to be alright. You're safe here," Mr. Corelli replied.

Miley stepped back and stepped within kissing distance of Lilly. She faintly whispered, no more than a sigh, "Unlock the door. Stand with Oliver. I'll distract. Escape." Lilly turned her worried face towards Miley. In them, Miley could read sadness, fear, doubt, concern. Then Lilly turned away and dragged Oliver towards the door.

The students were mostly clustered around the door, so nobody noticed the faint click of the lock turning back. Miley stood near the door.

_How am I gonna distract everyone away from the door?_ She thought. Then another thump, the loudest yet, pounded the building. Everyone turned towards the window, as if they could see though walls. Miley furiously shot Lilly a look, and skipped towards the door. When Miley reached it, Lilly was outside and Oliver was passing through. All heads turned away, Miley snuck like a ninja out of the door, and closed it as faintly as she could.

Her heart was pounding two hundred beats a minute. She quickly looked up and mouthed _Thank you, God_ before turning back and looking around the hall. Nothing had changed since she was there a quarter of an hour ago. The halls were empty and dark. Eerie and foreboding. Wanting to get as far away from the class as possible, Miley motioned for her friends to follow, and walked quickly down the hall towards the stairs. In the perfectly silent hallway, their light steps were hugely magnified.

Miley quietly pushed open the door to the stairs, and trod down them. Halfway down she stopped.

"Ok guys. To be honest, I'm surprised we even made it this far. It could only be seconds before they realize we're not still there. They could know already, so we need to hurry." Lilly and Oliver nodded.

"We know Jackson's at the washroom already. We just need to get to him _without_ being seen, and then find a way out of the school."

Silence fell between them. "Ready then?" Miley asked.

"I guess so" Oliver replied. Lilly just nodded.

"Let's go," Miley said. She crept down the stairs, and leaned her head over the curb in the wall.

Quincy was nowhere to be seen.

Miley turned back, looked at both of them, then turned back. Just as Miley was about to set out, she noticed Quincy walk into the intersection of the halls, near the girls bathroom. She quickly withdrew her head. _It's Quincy_ she mouthed, eyes open in horror.

_Please don't comer here, please don't come here, please don't _Miley chanted mentally. She leaned over for another peek, and suddenly had a flash of a vision. She thought of herself looking over the curb, and seeing Quincy's large oily face right in front of hers. His crooked nose jutting out, a horrifying leer on his face.

But Quincy was still where he was ten seconds ago. He stood, leaning his head lazily on a mop. Above them, Miley heard the soft click of the door being opened. Terror suddenly gripped Miley. _It's over_ she thought.

_No, we've gone too far. It's now or never, there's no other choice _thought Miley. She crossed her fingers on one hand, grabbed Lilly's forearm with the other, and dragged them all out into the hall.

**To be continued…**

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**I don't know if I should continue this story-that is, if enough people comment or like, then I'll definitely instill a second chapter, and probably more. The future is in your hands!**

**P.S. Want to read more creepy stories? Check out this link to my bronze medal winning flash fiction:**

allpoetry{dot com}/poem/11562675-Crawlers-by-Emily740

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 3:

Unexpected visitor

Miley and Lilly burst out into the hallway. The hall ran for about 100 meters to the right, towards the office and the main entrance, and about 20 meters to the left, where the hall took a right turn.

Without even bothering to glance whether or not Quincy was looking (_What difference would it make, either way we're sticking to the plan_), Miley ran down the left side of the hall and turned the corner. Lilly and Oliver did likewise.

Miley released her pent up breath, then looked over the curb. To her relief, Quincy wasn't chasing them. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen.

Miley turned back to her friends and motioned for them to follow. This hall ran down another 30 or so meters, before there was an exit leading outside. Near the exit, the hall took another right, leading to the science hallway.

Miley set out at a trot down the hall. She passed an empty gymnasium and a lustrous drinking fountain before she turned right at the end of the hall. Miley glanced at the door at the end of the hall, and remembered that all doors leading outside were locked during a lockdown. 

Miley was unnerved at the eerie silence pervading the halls. Usually filled with loud boisterous students, the dark halls were empty and foreboding. Miley approached the door to the boy's room, looked around, and cracked it open slightly.

"Jackson? You there?" Miley whispered. A few seconds later, she heard a reply.

"Yeah, come in here!" a voice replied.

Miley, Lilly, and Oliver slipped into the washroom. It was pitch black inside_. It smells far worse then the girl's washroom_, Miley thought. _The smell of dried urine and unflushed waste. Yuk_. Holding Lilly's hand, Miley called out.

"Jackson, where are you? I can't see a thing."

A bright light shone from the end of the bathroom. Miley saw Jackson standing with his cell phone pointing towards his face. With the white light shining under him, he looked like he was about to tell them a scary story. _The funny thing _is, Miley thought,_ we're already in one._

Jackson had dirty blond hair reaching almost to his shoulders, blue eyes, and although he was two years her elder, Miley was the same height.

"My cell phone's about to die," Jackson whispered.

Outside, the speakers crackled into life. Miley recognized the thick voice of their principle Doctor Holstein: _Attention students and faculty. There remains no power or internet connectivity in the building. However, I have been informed that ten minutes ago, the city of Los Angeles declared a State of Emergency. I would like to remind everyone that the building is completely safe, so nobody needs to panic. I reiterate, for safety reasons, nobody is to leave the building. Do not open windows or blinds, and do not leave your classrooms. Thank you for your cooperation in this difficult time._

Miley trembled with fear. "What could possibly be going on?" Miley asked.

Nobody answered. Miley then filled Jackson in on how they couldn't contact their father, and how they barely managed to sneak out of the classroom and avoid detection from Quincy.

"Alright, listen, we're getting out of here," Jackson said. Oliver tapped Jackson.

"Wait, why weren't you in bio?" Oliver asked. Jackson laughed.

"I had a test. Duh!" Oliver frowned, then shrugged.

"Listen guys, we just need to find an empty classroom, open a window from inside, and then crawl out." Miley said.

At that moment, Jackson's phone died, leaving them in complete darkness. Miley instinctively grabbed for Lilly's hand. "Ok, let's go" Miley said.

They stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway. All of the classrooms were dark, so Miley had no idea which ones were empty, and which concealed a host of students. Miley looked quizzically at Jackson.

"Room 157 at the end of the hall hasn't been used in years," Jackson said. "Ever since I blew up that stink bomb, man!" Jackson waved his hand comically in front of his nose, then reached out for a high five from Oliver.

"This is no time for games Jackson" Lilly said and led them to the end of the hallway. Miley peered into the small window at the top of the door. Darkness. No movement. Miley quietly twisted the doorknob.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the door slid open. A stench of rotten eggs assailed her nostrils. Miley pushed her shirt up to her nose and looked back. "Jackson, what in the-" Miley froze as she saw Lilly's mouth open in horror, ready to scream. Miley quickly wrapped her arm around Lilly's mouth to block any sound. Lilly uttered a muffled yell, then quieted down. With her hand still on Lilly's mouth, Miley leaned over Lilly's shoulder to see what Lilly was screaming at.

The windows at the end of the room were smeared with blood. Dark red stains were splattered across almost half the length of the classroom's windows. Light shone though the blob of blood, leaving red shadows on the ground.

"That must be from the thing that was thumping against the school," Miley whimpered. She stood trembling, clutching Lilly.

"So, um, ya still wanna go?" Oliver asked.

"We have to," Jackson replied as he walked up to the windows. Miley looked into Lilly's horror struck eyes, then let go and went to Jackson. Just as Jackson put his hand on the window, a voice rang from the open class door.

"Hold it right there."

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**I don't know if I should continue this story-that is, if enough people comment or like, then I'll definitely instill a second chapter, and probably more. The future is in your hands!**

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	4. Chapter 4: Bloody Descent

Chapter 4:

Bloody Descent

Miley spun around quickly. Her heart had leapt into her throat.

When Miley stopped spinning and saw who it was, she couldn't help but laughing a little. She thought she would see Principle Holstein; Or worse, Quincy.

"Rico?" Miley laughed. "What do you want? Get out of here!"

Rico walked slowly up to them. He had a cocky grin on his face. When he was only two feet from Miley, he stopped and said "I'm coming with you."

"No way. Leave! Now!" Miley exclaimed.

"If you don't let me, I'm gonna scream, and then Quincy'll come find you." A malicious smile spread across his small face, and he gave a quiet chuckle.

"Listen Rico. If you think-" Miley's retort dropped half sentence, as her expression became first surprised, then terrified.

Quincy stood at the mouth of the classroom, shaking in wrath. Thick bulging veins were popping out of his forehead and neck. His face, red as a summer tomato, was contorted in fury.

Everyone fell silent, staring at him. Even Rico's stupid grin faltered.

"Going somewhere?" he whispered in a deceivingly soft voice.

A crank broke Miley out of her reverie. Ignoring being quiet (_they_ _had already been caught, who cares_ Jackson thought), Jackson pushed up one of the bloody windows with a great effort.

"NOOO!" Quincy bellowed. He took large strides towards them, eyes gleaming murderously.

Jackson had finally opened a small hole and was frantically scrambling out of the bloody window. As his sneakers disappeared, Lilly jumped after him. Quincy, moving surprisingly fast for his age, was only feet from Miley. _I need to distract him_, Miley thought. Miley quickly looked around, finding nothing but Oliver. _Do something!_ Miley thought.

Miley pulled Oliver towards herself, then pushed him with all her might into Quincy. Quincy was caught off guard, and stumbled backwards. He tripped on his own feet, and fell back.

Miley seemed to see Quincy fall in slow motion. His dark eyes changed from a heated despiteful expression to a worried, then terrified expression. His head struck the sharp end of the desk, leaving behind a blood smear on the edge. Quincy fell to the ground face forward. Seconds later, a small pool of blood began to slide from under his face.

"Oh my god, did we kill him?" Miley asked, horrified. She could hear sounds in the corridors now. Any second, they would be discovered. Miley looked back. Rico was gone. Oliver stood dumbfounded near Quincy.

"Go!" Miley yelled at Oliver, giving him a pushing start. He scrambled out the tight space in the window. Miley pushed the bottom of his shoes, and sent him sprawling. Ready to clamber out, Miley chanced a look back. Then she screamed.

Quincy stood right behind her, his face entirely drenched in blood. A wide gash on the top of his forehead sent blood streaming across his eyes and down his long, jagged nose. From there, it trailed onto his uniform and the floor. Miley could not move. He exposed his teeth, crimson blood staining their ordinarily yellow color.

"I'm gonna kill ya," he said quietly. "I'm gonna kill ya"

Miley, finally remembering that she had legs, took a few hurried steps back. She hit the wall, and spread herself like a splattered bug on a windshield. She felt her lunch coming back up.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU FILTHY WHELP" he screamed as he charged towards her.

Miley turned around and dived through the small open space in the window. She felt cold glass scratch her back painfully, but she continued outside. Her friends were already near the parking lot. They waved for her.

Miley dared to glanced back once more. She screamed in terror at Quincy's bloody face, which was plastered to the window. His hate filled eyes bore into her, a sight she thought she would never forget. Behind him, dozens of administrators were rushing into the room.

_Just made it_ Miley thought. _ Though they still might try to get us. We need to leave now._

Miley then thought of the scream she heard emanating not to far from where she was, about half an hour ago. She had heard it in the safety of her classroom, but now there was no safe place to hide.

She shook her head and tried to forget about it.

Miley began to jog towards her friends. Their tightly knit group was already halfway across the parking lot, and only meters away from Jackson's old Buick.

As the group approached the car, Miley saw something jump at them. At first she thought it was a cougar. Or some wild beast. Their cramped group broke apart, all of them trying to avoid whatever had jumped at them. Miley turned her head down and sprinted towards her friends. All she heard were the pattering of her feet on the concrete parking lot and the screams of her friends and brother.

The screams grew louder as Miley approached. Jackson was in his car with Lilly, and Oliver was wrestling with the creature. Oliver and the thing were rolling, and Miley was only able to catch glimpses of the grey thing atop Oliver.

"Get in Miley and Oliver," Jackson shouted out of his open window.

As Oliver rolled to a standstill, Miley observed that the creature had gray skin and was dressed in bloodstained clothes. It was extremely dirty, and yelled with ha high pitched scream.

Miley looked up and saw another thing running towards them. From a distance, it looked like a human. A human who had been beaten within an inch of its life.

Miley quickly jogged up and kicked the attacker's face. He screamed a high, feline like screech, and Oliver used his momentary advantage to get up and run to the Jackson's old car. Miley jumped over the thing, and saw his hand shoot up for her ankle.

He was a second too late. Miley finished her jump and hopped into the car. Before Miley even had the chance to close the door, Jackson screeched off.

Cool September air blew across Miley, whipping her hair into Oliver's face. She shut the door, and breathed deeply. She felt as if she had just run a mile. She struggled to get in enough air, and shivered terribly. As they drove off, Miley opened the window and threw up. Miley's head hurt terribly, and a bitter taste was left in her mouth. She rolled up the window.

Oliver put an arm around her, and Miley sobbed onto him.

When Miley looked up, she saw Rico was sitting in the car as well. Despite her normal ferocity with him, she felt suddenly relieved that he was safe. Miley wiped her eyes, buckled her seatbelt, and looked out the window.

Cars were abandoned on the streets. They were driving through a nearby suburban neighborhood, and Miley could see dead bodies lying around houses. Doors hung open, windows were broken, and blood stained driveways.

Miley noticed that Lilly, who was riding shotgun with Jackson, had tears streaming down her face.

"Oh no," Jackson said.

"What" Miley said, her voice involuntarily trembling.

"Damn it, I forgot to fuel up this morning. I don't know if we have enough fuel to get home. In fact, I don't even know if we have enough fuel 'till the next gas station."

At that moment, in the middle of the wrecked suburban street, their car gave a loud crank and rolled to a halt.

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**I don't know if I should continue this story-that is, if enough people comment or like, then I'll definitely instill a second chapter, and probably more. The future is in your hands!**

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	5. Chapter 5: Fatal Rest

Chapter 5:

Fatal Rest

"What was that, Jackson?" Lilly asked. The color had drained from her face.

The car grumbled as black smoke puffed from the hood of the car. Slowly, the car rolled to a stop in the middle of the road.

"Damn it!" Jackson roared. He slammed the wheel with his palms.

"Jackson, why'd we stop?" Miley demanded. Jackson ignored her. He took the keys out, then jammed them back into the ignition. He rattled them from side to side.

The engine _vroomed_, then died. Everyone stared as Jackson tried again. _Vroom_, then nothing.

Lilly looked out of the window, then said "Jackson, I think now would be a good time to ask-do you have a gun in your car?"

Jackson flung his head up and looked out the window. Running towards them were two creatures. The smoke obscured their vision, but Miley could see that both were about six feet tall, and they ran as if their legs were injured. Still, they ran quickly towards their stranded car.

Jackson slammed his fist hard on the dashboard. The engine ignored him.

Another creature had joined the couple running towards the car. This one was shorter and much heavier. In less than a minute, all three would be upon the car.

"Lilly, check the glove compartment." Jackson said, still trying to ignite the engine. Lilly opened it, and a barrage of empty candy wrappers, half drunk soda bottles, and fast food bags fell on her.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Lilly yelled, panicking. She looked up and saw the creatures were only about 50 feet away. Then they disappeared behind a fresh thick veil of black smoke. Jackson furiously tried to ignite the engine.

Finally the engine roared into life, and Jackson immediately pushed as hard as he could on the gas pedal.

Lilly squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what was coming. But when it came, it was no less shocking. After only a few seconds of driving the car collided with the creatures. The engine rumbled, but managed to survive.

The car slowly climbed over the prostrated creatures. Once the rear wheels had cleared the bodies, the car began to roll smoothly.

Miley clenched her stomach. The bumps had done nothing to ease her nausea. She leaned over and pointed in the glove compartment. "I think that's what Jackson was looking for."

Lilly followed Miley's finger, and dug her hand into the junkyard of Jackson's glove compartment. She gripped something hard, and withdrew it.

It was a book from the school library. It was stained with soda and the library card was jutting out.

"Jackson, this was due last year," Lily observed.

Miley snatched the book and threw it over her shoulder, hitting Oliver on the way.

"No Lilly, there," Miley stretched her arm until her tendons burned.

Lilly reached in, and withdrew a wooden handle. It fit well in her hand. Jackson looked over.

"That's the only thing I've got." He snatched it from her hand, and unfolded the blade. Uncovered, the knife was about 8 inches in length. The blade was clean, and looked unused. "I got it when I got the car, in case someone tried to rob me." He handed the knife back to Lilly.

A sudden crash startled Jackson, who swerved the car to the side. Miley looked up and yelled.

A creature was hanging onto the windshield. Its entire lower jaw was missing. It's front row of teeth were black with dirt, and blood poured from the gap where the rest of his mouth should have been. It stared with cold grey eyes into the car, struggling to hold onto the moving vehicle.

Lilly joined Miley in screaming. Underneath the creature's bloody mask, the skin was grey and peeling. It began to strike the windshield with the back of its fist. Jackson swerved deeply, and the creature was flung off. It left dark blood stains all over the driver's side of the windshield.

"I don't have wipers, I couldn't afford them," Jackson said, driving blindly with no sense of direction.

"Stop the car, Jackson, you'll get us all killed!" Miley yelled.

Just as Jackson took his foot off the pedal, the car crashed into something big and heavy. Everyone was flung forward from the force of the impact. Luckily, they had all remembered to put seatbelts on. All except Rico, whose head slammed into the back of Lilly's seat.

Miley looked up but nothing saw nothing past the smoke that surrounded their car. The engine had died- no sound was audible other than the hissing of fumes, and the shallow breathing of the shocked passengers.

Miley looked around the car. _Thank God everyone's safe_ she thought. Her breathing came quickly, and her heart seemed on the verge of giving up. An acrid smell filled the car. Miley could see thin traces of black fumes at the other end of the car.

"Jackson," Miley coughed, "we have to get out of here."

Jackson pushed the handle of the door. It didn't budge. The door was much smaller than it was a minute ago. It bent outwards, crumpled and folded together, facing towards the collision. Jackson leaned back on Lilly, and gave the door a strong kick with the sole of his shoe.

The entire door flew off, and landed three feet away with a clang.

"Ssshhh! Be quiet," Miley whispered. Jackson scrambled out of the car, and soon Lilly, Oliver and Rico escaped in turn. Miley climbed from the back of the car out of the small opening. Lilly offered her hand, and Miley grasped it. Miley pulled herself out of the wreck, then turned to look at what they had crashed into.

It was an expensive looking black SUV. The rear windows were all broken and lay in tiny chips all across the hood of Jackson's car. It's front doors were open, and Miley walked a little forward to make sure nobody was inside. Just in case, Miley got in and looked at the ignition port. No keys.

Miley was glad to be out of the noxious car, but only after a minute being outside her old fears returned. Jackson took a few steps ahead of everyone, then motioned them all back.

"I know where we are. We're only a few blocks away from home." Jackson whispered.

Miley looked around. She recognized the place too. They were on Weldrick Road; three blocks away from her house on Malibu Drive.

"If we go straight down, we'll get to the beach. We need to turn right before that, then continue along the bend until we get to our home." Jackson whispered.

They set out single file, Jackson in the lead. They crept behind the SUV, and crouched along their way towards the beach.

There was nobody on the street, a fact Miley checked every few seconds. _This is all going to be over soon. We'll get to my house where we're safe, and then we'll figure something our. We'll..._

They were about halfway to the beach already, when a loud, shrill screech tore throughout the street.

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**I don't know if I should continue this story-that is, if enough people comment or like, then I'll definitely instill another chapter, and probably more. The future is in your hands!**

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	6. Chapter 6: Demon Unleashed

Chapter 7:

Demon unleashed

Miley's head jerked up.

A single creature stood alone on the beach. It stared at them, dripping in front of the ocean. The cold, grey of its skin contrasted against the yellow of the sand.

"Go!" Jackson yelled, dropping any pretense of being quiet. The group ran full out to the bottom of the street.

As they reached their turn, Miley hung back a few seconds, dumbfounded.

Dozens of creatures were crawling out of the sea. Over one hundred had already filed out, and were quickly crossing towards them. More creatures continued to crawl out even as the others ran. Some fell after only a few steps. Others managed to limp forward. And yet, others ran faster than even Miley could.

"Miley!" Lilly called.

Miley turned and saw the group already near the end of the block. Miley turned her back on the army and sprinted forward.

She strained to catch up to the rest of the group, which ran about sixty paces ahead. Houses whizzed by, and Miley stopped looking around at the numerous corpses lining the streets, the broken windows, and the bloody stains that ran down the cement. Miley slowed down to catch her breath as she approached her house. The group waited for her near the entrance, and Miley joined them.

The house looked as it always did. No freaky corpses or signs of any struggle.

"I bet dad's barricade himself inside" Jackson said.

Miley, suddenly remembering about the oncoming swarm, quickly said "Jackson we're running out of time, we need to hide before they find us."

"Do you have a key with you?" Jackson asked urgently.

"No"

Screams from the approaching army could be heard. Jackson furtively shot a look back, then steeled himself and ran at the door.

The door blew open with a crash, shattering the lock.

Miley, Jackson, Lilly, Oliver and Rico quietly filed inside. Miley tried to close the broken door as best as she could.

To Miley's relief, the house looked the same as it always did. That meant no struggle had occured, which in turn meant that her dad was probably hiding somewhere safe.

"Daddy!" Miley called out quietly. No response. "Jackson, turn the lights on"

"Power's out," he replied. To double check, he tried the switch.

The house remained in darkness.

Jackson faced the group and said "Here's what we're going to do. Me and Miley will check upstairs. Lilly and Oliver check downstairs, and Rico can check the shed in the backyard."

"Maybe it's not such a good idea to split up," Lilly pointed out.

"We need to find him fast! He could not be here at all!" Jackson urged.

Miley looked into Lilly's eyes. "Good luck, see ya in a bit."

Lilly smiled and walked with Oliver towards the basement.

Miley had searched her bedroom, her dad's bedroom and the upstairs bathroom. Jackson had checked his room and the upstairs office.

No sign of him anywhere.

_This can't be,_ Miley thought. _Where would he go? _Panic started to grip Miley. "Jackson, what if we don't find him? What if it's too, too-" and although Miley couldn't bare to say it, the thought ran sharp through her mind: _too late. Nothing you can do. Too late._

Miley walked over to her bedroom, which had a circular window. Outside, dead bodies lay strewn across the pavement, bloody pools welling beneath them. Like rain, the blood trailed down the street into the sewage drains.

A zombie was walking mindlessly down the street. The horde of zombies from the ocean was nowhere to be seen, which was comforting.

Jackson came into the room with her.

"I didn't find him." Miley could read the disappointment in his voice.

"Me neither," Miley said. "Let's go see if Lilly or anyone else found him."

_What are we going to do if we don't find him? What _can _we do? _Miley pondered.

"Lilly," Jackson called out.

Silence.

Jackson crept down the stars and crossed the hall. He opened the door to the basement, and Miley cautiously followed him in.

"Lilly," Jackson called again.

"Where are they?" Miley asked.

As they approached the bottom of the curved stairs, a red pulsing glow began reflecting off of the white walls.

On the last step, Jackson froze and stumbled back. He shot Miley a terrified glance, his baby blue eyes popping out of his face.

"Jackson, what's going on! Let me see," Miley said, pushing him to the side.

Miley's breathe caught at the sight.

Robbie Ray Stuart was sitting in the center of the basement. Hundreds of candles illuminated the entire basement in a fiery glow. He sat completely still, his expression blank. Noticing his children walk in, he gave slight smile and a crazed look leapt into his eyes.

Behind him, Lilly and Oliver hung, crucified.

**To be concluded...**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**Thank you guys soo much for your support throughout this journey of publishing this story. Make sure to follow this story to find out how this tale ends! **

**I recently started a new series called Tori's Wild Night in the Victorious fan fiction, so if you guys like my writing, please feel free to check that out.**

**Peace ! 3**

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**I don't know if I should continue this story-that is, if enough people comment or like, then I'll definitely instill a second chapter, and probably more. The future is in your hands!**

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	7. Chapter 7: From Hell

Chapter 7:

From Hell

**Robbie Stuart did not stir at their arrival. Only once Miley gave a bloodcurling scream did he lazily focus his eyes and look up at his visitors.**

**Miley screamed.**

**She screamed until she had no more breathe to scream with. Her father sat in the centre of a red circle, painted with blood. Filling the circle was a ruby red pentagram. Red candles cast shadows all around the room, wavering here in there almost hypnotically, although there was no breeze. Painted symbols Miley could not understand decorated the circumference of the circle, as well as around the bright star that glittered in the candlelight. **

**Miley realized it was intensely hot in the basement. In fact, Miley didn't think she ever felt hotter in her life. It must have easily been at least one hundred degrees in the cellar. Miley's hair hung to her face in sweaty braids, and she had to blink out drops of sweat that rushed down her face. **

**Just as Miley's screams began to subside, she saw the most terrifying sight of all. The sight was worse than any nightmare she had ever had. A part of her sanity departed at that moment, to never return to its righteous place. **

**Erected near the back of the room were two wooden crosses. Lilly hung limply from the left cross, a steady stream of blood flowing from her wrists, soaking her shirt crimson red. A trail of dark blood ran from her lips. Her head lay still, downcast. **

**Across from her Oliver hung, killed in the same grotesque fashion, arms nailed to the cross. **

**Jackson and Miley stood paralyzed. Neither could move. A small part of Miley's mind was telling her to run, run as fast as she could and never stop. Yet she was unable to so much as blink. Her mind instantly went numb and her body catatonic. **

**A devilish smile split Robbie's face. However, instead of his usual glowing smile, his teeth were stained black with black blood oozing from his gums. **

**Miley felt puke rising inside her. She felt it travel up her esophagus, clawing at it in painful grasps. Yet it never left her body. **

**"Glad you could make the party. The more the merrier, after all." He reached over and grabbed a dagger, stained with blood. He stood up slowly, as if he were three decades older than his age. **

**"Come here Miley," Robbie whispered. "Daddy would like a word with you."**

**Suddenly, Lilly shot her face up.**

**Instead of eyes, there were black holes, exposing the insides of her head. Blood poured out of each socket. The darkness shrouded most of her features, but Miley could see no teeth in her mouth.**

**"Come Miley," she rasped. "Join us. Daddy's nice to us. Daddy's nice to ****_all_**** of us, Miley." Her pale face read no expression, save for a slight smile. "We all burn here. And when you die, you'll burn with us too!"**

**She gave a terrifying laugh and vomited her innards. **

**Miley looked away, tears obscuring her vision. **

**"Finally my time has come. The antichrist has risen Miley, and he's your DADDY!" he roared, lunging at Miley. His long hair swung wildly from his head as he leapt, blood dripping from his knife. **

**Miley stumbled backwards, then tripped. She looked from her father, or whatever demon it was that approached them, to Lilly's bloodstained corpse, now ripping its dead wrists from the posts it was bolted to. **

**Miley, finally regaining control of her legs, bolted up the stairs, but fell prematurely of even the first step. Something was holding her down.**

**She looked, and Jackson was holding her arm in a tight grip. **

**"Jackson, let go!" Miley shouted. "Jackson?"**

**He stared at her. "You can't leave now Miley. I finally have you right where I need you." **

**"Jackson, what are you doing! Please, let go!" Robbie was only a few steps away from them.**

**"You're the last piece of the puzzle. The blood virgin. You are all we need." **

**A terrible stench overwhelmed Miley as Robbie approached them. He smelled of rotting meat and dead animals. **

**Panic coursed through Miley's body, mixed with a fear she had never before experienced. The fear of imminent death, the most primal animal instinct overwhelming her body. **

**Robbie had reached her and Jackson. Not knowing what to do, Miley leaned back and punched Robbie in the face as hard as she could with her free hand. She hit him square in his nose, which immediately started to spurt blood like fireworks. **

**"Aaaah! You whore! I'll kill you!" he shouted, stumbling back. **

**Miley kicked Jackson hard in his stomach, which momentarily loosened his iron grip. One moment was all she needed. She wrung her sweaty wrist and broke free, starting hurriedly up the stairs. Tears flooded her vision, and her movements felt as if they were not her own; as if someone else was controlling them. Miley struggled to remain conscious as her head swam and light danced before her eyes. She was halfway up the stairs when she heard her father stomping up the steps towards her. **

**"Get back here! You're only making it worse!"**

**Miley skipped three steps at a time, and the last five steps into the kitchen.**

**Her foot struck the last step, sending her sprawling onto the hard kitchen linoleum. **

**Miley struggled to get back up, but it was too late. Robbie grabbed her right ankle, and forcefully pulled her down.**

**Miley struggled against her father's weight, but she couldn't overpower him. And even though she saw it coming, there was nothing she could do to stop the blade from coming down and embedding into her thigh. **

**Miley let her pent up breathe escape as the world around her swam. She was in agony she didn't think humans were capable of feeling. Blood pulsed around the metal stuck in her leg. Dark spots began to dance within her vision, which grew bigger and bigger. The pain was starting to alleviate as the rest of her senses did too. **

**Miley looked back and vaguely saw Robbie stand up. He pulled her by her hair to a standing position. She looked Robbie in the eyes, and if her vision hadn't been reduced to a small fraction of its normal range, she would have seen she was staring right at the eyes of the Devil. **

**Blood spurted onto her face. Although she sensed it, she made no effort to remove it. Miley had already forgotten she had hands to move and eyelids to blink. **

**Robbie fell to the ground, leaving behind him a smaller sized shadow of a person.**

**The child stood with a kitchen knife in his hands, dripping blood. **

**Miley heard shouting as she fell down towards the ground. She lay down on the floor, and reached for her wound. Her hand came back soaked in blood. Miley turned her head around, and then her vision faded to black. **

**To be continued…**

**Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story. Please comment on any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions. I will personally read every single comment.**

**I really enjoyed writing this story, and I thank everyone who took their precious time to read my work. There will still be an epilogue, so feel free to follow the story. **

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


	8. Epilogue

Chapter 8:

Epilogue

**Miley ran into the water, shrieking. She dove forwards into the waves like a frolicking puppy, and did a twirl.**

**The bloody half disc of the sun shone weakly across the ocean. It bathed the skies in a beautiful mélange of shades of red and pink. **

**Miley stood on the ocean floor and waved, laughing. Without even thinking, Rico smiled back. The sight of someone laughing warmed his heart. It had been a long time since he had heard honest laughter.**

**"It's warm, Rico!" she called, "Come in, it's perfect!". Miley spun around and dove back into the water.**

**A wave of nostalgia hit Rico like a hard wave. His head spun a little and, looking out at Miley splashing in the sunset, it seemed like nothing had ever changed. Today was another beautiful LA evening, in the vibrant City of Angels. Life went by quickly in the big city, but every step of the journey was awesome. Rico was going to go back home now, back to his mother's warm touch, to a hot supper and an evening of video games and energy drinks. **

**Rico heard people laughing behind him. He heard the sound of sand churning under passerby's feet, of surfers cutting waves across the water, of children screaming with delight. His shack was behind him, making him regular income which he would spend this weekend with his brother in downtown, living life to the fullest. **

**Rico turned around excitedly, but what he saw deflated his spirits like a balloon. **

**Corpses lined the beach. As far as Rico could see, dead people, or whatever creatures they now were, lay sprawled. Some lay in crusting piles of dried blood, others in deformed bodily positions. **

**Nothing moved on the beach. The once claimed "destination of a lifetime" now lay silent, except for the ceaseless drawing back and crashing of the waves. No laughter, no children, no life. The beach, just as everything in the city, was now dead.**

**Rico didn't even notice the tears welling in his eyes until they flowed down in ticklish streams. He was glad Miley was not there to see him cry. He had tried his best not to cry for the past few days. Because he knew if he started to cry, he might never be able to stop. He would cry for his mother, for his father, for all the people of Los Angeles. He would cry for all the dreams he had- dreams that will never come true. He might cry until all of the water in his body spilled out and left behind a dehydrated sac of skin and bones. **

**He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and stood up, slightly dizzy. He was afraid he would never forget. He would never forget how he drove a knife into Robbie Stuart. He would never forget how-**

**_he felt the entire house shudder, then begin to shake vigorously. Rico had never been more terrified in his whole life than at that moment. The ground vibrated back and forth, sending pictures crashing onto the floor, vases smashing against chairs, and bookshelves vomiting their contents downward into the chaos. _**

**_He screwed his eyes shut against the blinding red light- the one that illuminated the entire house and everything outside. If the sun was a foot from his eyes it wouldn't have shone as brightly as the light that pervaded the room. Objects struck every inch of his body as he stumbled onto the floor, grasping for Miley. He ran a hand over her loose hair and pulled her limp body by her shoulders towards the backyard. _**

**_His next memory is only of waking up next to Miley in their backyard, in a city that was more destroyed than Hiroshima, more deserted than Chernobyl. _**

** "****Rico, are you alright?" Miley asked. **

**Rico realized he had been staring out into the sea. The sun no longer brightened the skies, which now were a solemn black without the lights of the city to illuminate the night sky. He gave a half convincing smile, then turned around before she could see its insincerity.**

**Rico looked back at the darkening city as Miley packed their things. Much to Rico's annoyance, the question that had occupied his mind for the past few days returned again: ****_What now?_**

**Rico pushed the thought out of his mind as Miley joined him. They began to walk away from the beach, towards downtown.**

**They still didn't know what they are going to do as the only people alive in the city. Maybe even the only people left alive in the world. But as Miley lightly put her arm under Rico's while they walked through the deserted streets of the darkening city, Rico knew that everything would turn out all right. **

**Author's note: Hello Hannah Montana Fans! I wish to bestow my deepest gratitude for everyone who stuck with my story until the very end. It was a pleasure writing it, as much as I hope it was a pleasure reading it. **

**Perhaps sometime in the future I might write a sequel. There do seem to be some unanswered questions about Rico and Miley's future lives. Please write something in the comments if you wish to see a sequel happen. **

**In other news, I am writing an erotic fanfiction about the TV show Victorious. It recently broke 800 reads after only 2 chapters, so be sure to check that out if you like some "spicier" writing. It's called "Tori's Wild Night"**

**Thank you again so much for reading my story. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed it. **

**Yours Truly,**

**-Michael Cade**

**No copyright infringement intended. I do not own any characters above mentioned.**


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